Outdoor Audio Setup part 1

Thursday, October 10, 2013

If your like me,your house is getting smarter. WeMo light control, Nest thermostat and soon Nest Protect, and iVideon home surveillance system. As my home gets smarter your gonna need a device that can control your home when your home. While I can do this with my Smart Phone, the battery life really doesn't allow me the multitasking between browsing, email and monitoring all my smart devices. Why buy a new IPad for this. Why not use an original iPad 1 for all of these things

Here is what I use my Original iPad for.

1. Nest- I control my home thermometer with my iPad. When the summer months hit and it gets warm, I dont always want my Nest kicking on the air condition. While you can program the nest to whatever temp you want. Sometimes you wanna kick on the AC while your cooking and dont want to walk the 10 steps to the device while the stove is on.

2. WeMo- Sometimes I want those lights to shut off and I don't want to get out of bed to do it. With a couple taps, the lighting in your house can easily shut off without you having to move from that comfy spot in your bed.

3. iVideon - Monitor the other rooms in your house. This allows you to monitor your webcams or old reused anroid devices with this app. Monitor your babies room during the day or have a low cost surveillance system with this app and your iPad.

4. Craftsman Assurelink Garage Door Opener - Open your garage door with this app. You ask why would I use this? If its late at night, and you think you forgot to close the garage door. Check the app to see if you left it open instead of gettin out of bed

6. Logitech Harmony Ultimate Remote - I have done a review on this product, and I cant tell you how much I really love this product. If you misplace your phone, the iPad makes for a fantastic backup!

So this is just a sample of what you can use an original iPad for. An old iPad will will do the trick and works great managing all your smart devices. I would love to hear what you guys use your old hardware for!

Extras

AirServer - Not only do your have the ability to airplay to an apple tv, but with this you can Airplay to a PC or Mac Mini. For me this is huge, you can push youtube videos to your Mac Mini/HTPC without ever picking up a keyboard.

Owletcare - Have yet to use this, however this is a fantastic idea. I know I was paranoid a time or two about SIDS.. If there is a device that can help me sleep a little better knowing my little girl is breathing, than it would be worth a look

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Always on the look out for that which is free & on the first day of our government shutdown what can be better than getting 10 free digital movies? Click on this link. Sign up for a free account unless your already a member of CinemaNow or Ultraviolet and choose 10 flicks. They're older flicks but who can say no to Big Trouble in Little China?